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Writing guidelines

We’ve been totally overwhelmed by the interest in and take up of God52. What started as (and to some extent remains) one person trying to get closer to God in 2013, has turned into a whole community of people on a year-long journey of faith together. Some of us are teenagers, some of us pensioners; some of us wouldn’t even call ourselves Christians. Various beautiful things have happened already, and I’m sure we don’t even know half the stories.

One of the other surprising things about God52 is that people have been so keen to write for this site – and have done so brilliantly. Although this wasn’t planned (actually, none of this was), it looks like we’re now publishing a number of guest posts on the site each week.

With that in mind then, I thought I’d suggest a few guidelines which will keep the posts interesting and varied for the reader, and might help you if you come to write one.

We’re not just looking for ‘writers’. It doesn’t matter if you’re not an accomplished wordsmith. The two of us who administrate the site both work in publishing – there’s nothing we love more than hacking copy about. If you have something to say – if you feel prompted to write – please get in touch.

Focus on the topic, not the challenge. You can mention the challenge and how you’re finding it, but in general, please make the specific discipline, character trait or missional activity the focus of your post. For example, as I write this we’re exploring humility through anonymous acts of kindness. Although we wouldn’t want you to ignore the significance and challenge of the action, it’s humility that we’re looking to explore and grow in together.

Be honest, and be yourself. The Internet already has quite enough Christians who are seeking to appear near perfect. If you’re struggling with a subject or a challenge, say so. Tell stories, and don’t feel the need to preach or to make a winning argument. People will be incredibly grateful that you’ve taken the time to write; you don’t need to win them over.

Keep it punchy. You can probably say what you want to say in between 300 and 400 words. It might be a little longer than that (it may even be shorter), but that’s a rough word count to aim for.

And that’s about it. If you’d like to write a guest blog, please get in touch towards the beginning of a challenge week (they run Tuesday to Monday) by emailing me. Ideally we’ll need the text from you (either as a Word file or pasted into an email) as early in the week as possible; please also send us a recent photo of yourself, and a short one-two sentence bio with any links to twitter, personal blog etc. Please make it very clear if you’d like the blog to appear anonymously.

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27 Responses to “Writing guidelines”

I seriously got “high” on The Holy Spirit… All that pain and hunger went away after I avoided a temptation for my favorite food and I was smiling so much my face got sore, and all of the devil’s tricks were just hilarious to me… I was being fed by the light.